CHAPTER 12

With blood still smeared on her, she couldn't just return like that.

 After roughly washing her face by the river, she returned to the mansion just as the morning sun began to rise.

As Sharan fastened his cufflinks and descended the stairs, he saw Satina and raised an eyebrow, clearly displeased.

"There's no rain, so what's with that mess? And..."

Sharan's gaze shifted to Target A1687 and the unconscious rat beastman being carried by her.

"And who are these? They look like runaway slaves. Are you planning to take them in, sister?"

Sharan sneered, looking at A1687's appearance.

"They're not runaways. I bought them."

"You bought them? Where did you get the money, sister?"

Satina replied in a bored voice.

"I won it at the gambling house."

"What did you say?"

He quickly approached and examined Satina closely.

"Are you out of your mind? What if rumors spread about someone from the Bersaebet family frequenting such places?"

"You don't have to worry; I know what I'm doing. Besides, you gamble from time to time too."

"What I do is light gambling! But a gambling house? Do you even realize how dangerous those places are? What if something happened to you..."

"I don't see why you're so upset. Whatever happens to me isn't your concern, is it?"

'If you wish to leave the mansion, then go. No one will stop you. Just don't disgrace the family name, sister.'

Satina recalled what Sharan had once said.

She wondered if they would even bother to hold a funeral for her if she froze to death on the streets.

She couldn't understand why he was so angry when it didn't even harm the family.

 She had merely stated the facts, but Sharan glared at her, clearly displeased.

Then, with his usual bright smile, he spoke.

"Fine. Do as you please."

His voice was soft as he whispered.

"If you want to take them in, go ahead. Even if you get hurt or lose something to those slaves, it's none of my business."

"As your brother, how could I stop you from doing what you want? So do as you wish. Whatever happens to you, it's not my concern."

"A lowly beastman and a slave of unknown origin. They suit someone as incapable as you quite well."

Though his lips curved into a sweet smile, his eyes remained cold.

"Enjoy living with your trash."

And with that, he brushed past Satina.

She had expected more resistance, but getting into the mansion was easier than anticipated.

A1687 and the unconscious rat beastman were guided to another room by the butler, and Satina headed straight to her own room.

Despite everything, she still seemed to consider this place her home. 

As soon as she saw the familiar bed, the forgotten fatigue washed over her.

Without even changing her clothes, she collapsed onto the soft bed.

'I'm tired.'

She thought as she pressed her cheek against the pillow.

'I need to sleep a lot to regain my strength, then check on The Target and that rat...'

Thinking about the tasks ahead, she soon fell asleep.

***

"Miss, miss! There's a big problem! Please wake up! Quickly!"

Satina slowly opened her eyes to the trembling voice of her maid, Cheney.

"Miss, it's because of the person you brought here... There's a big problem..."

"What?"

The urgency in her maid's voice snapped her out of her drowsiness.

The intense battle she had witnessed earlier still lingered vividly in her mind.

"What's the problem?"

"Well... it's..."

After hearing Cheney's report, Satina quickly dressed and hurried to the dining hall.

The moment she saw the state of the dining room, she held her forehead.

The place was a complete mess.

Broken plates littered the floor, and several servants surrounded A1687, each holding a long stick, trying to intimidate him.

Below A1687 lay another servant, subdued with a twisted arm.

"What a sight..."

At Satina's murmuring, another trembling servant standing by the entrance responded.

"I... I don't know what happened. We were just about to eat when that slave spat out the food he tasted. Some of the kitchen staff's friends took offense and started a fight, and then... this happened."

So, it was those servants who had tried to assert dominance over the new slave and got what they deserved.

"You! You insolent slave! Do you think you'll get away with this?"

"Let go of Thomas immediately!"

The servants, holding their sticks, threatened A1687.

'Provoking him like that won't help.'

That man could tear people apart with his bare hands.

The air in the dining hall was thick with tension.

Fearing that things might escalate into a bloodbath, Satina decided to intervene.

"That's enough."

At her voice, both sides turned to look at her.

"Miss!"

Satina stepped between the servants and A1687.

Realizing that making a scene in front of their mistress wouldn't end well, the tension eased slightly.

"Let him go too."

Satina gestured towards A1687. 

After a moment's hesitation, he released the subdued servant, who scrambled back to his friends, trembling.

"Since no one seems seriously hurt, let's end this here."

"But miss! Do you know how insolent that slave was to us?! He..."

Satina looked down at the servant speaking to her with a slight tilt of her head.

"Do I need to concern myself with that?"

Her somewhat haughty tone left the servant speechless.

"Punishing this slave is my responsibility, so you don't need to worry about it."

Satina was well aware that her actions made it clear she was favoring A1687.

But so what?

No matter how much I favored A1687, it wouldn't matter since the servants clearly followed Sharan more than her.

 Besides, was there really a problem with her caring more about A1687 than a servant she'd never met before?

Leaving the servants behind, she brought A1687 to her room.

As she sat down on a chair, A1687 naturally knelt before her.

"Why did you act that way in the dining room? Was there poison in the food?"

"No."

"Then?"

"The food..."

Although they hadn't spoken much, he didn't seem like someone who held back his words. Yet now, he was hesitating.

'I hope it's something I can handle,' she thought, patiently waiting instead of pressuring him.

"The food... was strange."

"Huh?"

"There was no poison, but it was soft and warm... It felt strange."

He awkwardly tilted his head.

"Isn't food supposed to be cold and hard?"

Only then did Satina recall that the man before her had lived his entire life as a slave since birth.

The Bersaebet family was one of the most prestigious in the empire, and even their servants lived better than most commoners.

They were served meals that included things like soft bread and pieces of meat in soups—luxuries that poor commoners couldn't even dream of.

So it made sense that a man who had lived his whole life as a slave found such food unfamiliar.

"It's not strange. You'll get used to it soon enough."

At least while she was caring for him, she wanted to ensure that he never experienced such deprivation again.

Though she couldn't promise the absolute best treatment, she wanted to make sure that warm meals and a soft bed wouldn't feel foreign to him.

'That's the only way I can win his favor.'

The man lowered his gaze slightly, listening to her words with a gentle expression.

Through the short strands of his hair, Satina could see the black markings wrapped around his neck.

It was the mark of a slave.

She knew well that this man wasn't following her without reason.

At first glance, he might seem like a loyal dog blindly obeying his master, but in truth, A1687 was incredibly intelligent, and his goal was clear.

His sole objective was freedom.

Not all slaves were like that, but slaves like A1687, who possessed immense strength and a high likelihood of escape, were kept under control with such markings.

If the master uttered a specific keyword, it would trigger a spell, instantly killing him, no matter how far away he was.

Since an ordinary slave couldn't possibly break that magic on their own, the only way A1687 could gain freedom was if his master released him personally.

That was why A1687 showed such loyalty to her.

Rather than taking the beaten-down path of an experienced slave, it was more strategic to appeal to the compassion of a naïve noblewoman who didn't fully understand the world.

'And the moment he gains that freedom, he'll probably kill me and run far away.'

Satina absentmindedly stroked A1687's head as she recalled his storyline in the game.

In the game, A1687 had been the female protagonist's slave, devotedly serving and showing loyalty to her.

However, during the course of his storyline, he eventually betrayed her in pursuit of his freedom.

In the game, the female protagonist was attacked by beasts and fell into a coma.

But instead of rescuing her, A1687 left her behind and fled.

His actions were based on the calculation that if the protagonist, who held the keyword to his release, died, he would finally gain true freedom.

Of course, he was eventually captured by another character who had come to save the protagonist. 

Faced with the reality that he had nothing left after betraying her, A1687 fell into deep despair.

Yet, the kind-hearted protagonist forgave him, and moved by her forgiveness, A1687 became genuinely loyal and devoted to her afterward... or so the story went.

He was only being this obedient and sweet to hear the keyword that would release him.

Ding!

Quest: Name A1687

Reward: A1687's Affection +5

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